Portable and collapsable modular calf housing system

ABSTRACT

A portable and collapsable modular calf housing system featuring at leasl one pen comprising a front panel and two side panels and optionally a rear wall panel forming a pen The side panels include channels in which the front panel can slide vertically to adjust the height of a feed pail attached thereto The channels are disposed on either face of each side panel to enable a front panel from each one of adjacent pens to be joined to form a plurality of interconnected pens.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a calf housing system, particularly asystem and method for housing calves individually.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Calves are born with a relatively immature immune system and, inparticular, pre-weaned calves are susceptible to infectious pathogensthat may be spread by the air-borne, fecal-oral or calf-to-calftransmission routes. Because transmission of enteric pathogens in calvesis primarily through animal to animal contact, it has become commonpractice to isolate calves from others to reduce the risk of infectiousdiseases.

It is important, however, to have appropriate housing isolation units tomaintain a positive effect on the growth, health and well-being of adiary calf. Good design can provide a healthy environment that reducesenvironmental stress. For example, high levels of moisture, pollutantsand air-borne pathogens may lead to respiratory problems that have longterm effects. Thus, there has been an on-going need for managementenvironments that provide calves with a clean, dry, well-ventilatedspace, especially in locations that may experience severe fluctuationsin temperature.

Several attempts have been made to provide appropriate housing forcalves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,245 provides a rigid pen,including an outer frame defining an open floor attached to a motorizedvehicle. The vehicle is operated to raise the pen off the ground anddeliver the raised pen to an area at which the calf and the mother coware located. The vehicle then positions the raised pen over the calf.Finally, the pen is lowered such that the calf is inside of the pen andthe mother cow is outside of the pen. The calf, in the pen, can then behoused in a manner in which the handler has access without interferencefrom the mother.

United States Patent application 20070178525 provides methods formanaging livestock to improve performance and health of the generallivestock population by reducing the impact of subclinical animalspersistently infected with a contagious disease by separating animalsinto arrival groups, screening all animals for the pathogen of thecontagious disease, promptly removing the pathogen positive animals fromthe general livestock population and feeding and managing the pathogennegative animals and pathogen positive animals separately. In preferredembodiments, the pathogen positive animals are removed from theirarrival group within about 1.5-3 days after arrival. In preferredembodiments, the method of the present invention is applied in a cattleoperation such as a seedstock operation, a cow-calf operation, a stockeroperation, a backgrounding operation, a feedlot operation, a dairyoperation, a farm of origin, such as a dairy farm, an auction facility,a gathering point or a buyer facility.

Another type of calf housing system is marketed by Calf-Tel for Hampelproducts that can be used to house calves. While the Calf-Tel hutchesprovide a useful alternative to other types of hutches, they do notprovide for adjustability as the calf grows.

Thus, there was an unmet need for a calf housing system that addressesthe requirements for good ventilation, isolation, disease reduction andadjustability in farm management practices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved calf housingsystem.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of isolating acalf from other calves and cows. The method includes providing aportable, rigid pen that provides systems for ventilation and forproviding adequate nutrition to the calf as it grows with a minimum ofenvironmental stress.

In another aspect, the invention provides a portable pen for isolating acalf. The pen includes a frame that has a front, a back, and opposingsides that combine to define an interior pen area. In one preferredembodiment, the pen has an open floor and functions as a free standingpen that can be moved to various locations based on environmentalconditions such as drainage, the direction of the prevailing winds or atemperature and humidity controlled facility.

In another preferred embodiment, the includes a rear wall.

In a further embodiment, the is adapted for attachment to a wall wherebythe wall forms the rear of the enclosure.

In yet another embodiment, the includes a floor.

In a preferred embodiment, the pen includes a door hingedly attached tothe front of the frame. Conventional hinges or pins may be used. Thedoor or gate is preferably attached to the front such that the door canswing inwardly or outwardly relative to the frame. The gate preferablyincludes ventilation openings and locations for inclusion of optionalfeatures such as a headlock, a bottle holder, a wall bracket and abottle. The opposing side panels are adapted for interconnection betweenmultiple pens and also include channels in which the front of the framefits. In a preferred embodiment, both the front panel and the sidechannels include apertures.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the frame includes at leastone feed pail. The vertical location of the feed pail/front panel can beadjusted, as the calf grows, to facilitate feeding. In a preferredembodiment, the height, or vertical positioning, of the front panel isadjusted by sliding the panel in the channels of the side members andsecuring the panel at a specific height by inserting a pin incorresponding apertures in the front panel and the side panels. Othermeans of adjusting the height of the feeding pails, such as a springloaded, ratcheting or hydraulic systems, are included within the scopeof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent fromthe following description in which reference is made to the appendeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view of one embodiment of a calf housing pen in accordancewith one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of another embodiment of a calf housing pen inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a complex of calf housing pens attached alongtheir sides in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4A is a front view illustrating how the feed buckets can beadjusted vertically;

FIG. 4B illustrates various confirmation in which the pens can beattached to each other;

FIG. 5A illustrates an optional headlock for use with the presentinvention;

FIG. 5B illustrates an optional quick release bottle holder for use withthe present invention;

FIG. 5C illustrates an optional wall bracket for use with the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates optional rotary vents for use with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates how the front panel can be adjusted vertically toprovide the calf with a feeding pail in position according to itsheight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of a portable pen 10 in accordance with the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1. The pen 10 includes a frame 12 thatcomprises a rear wall, two opposing side walls and a front wall. A dooris inserted in the front wall. The door is hingedly attached at one sideof the front panel. The door may be adapted to swing either inward oroutward relative to the front panel. The opposite side of the door isreleasably maintained in a closed position by a latching mechanism. Thelatching mechanism may comprise any type of known latching/securingmechanisms. For example, the hinges of the door may be outwardly biasedand the door is latched by a simple stop member being rotated intoposition. Alternatively, the latch may incorporate a slide and boltsystem or a click and fit system. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1, the floor of the pen is open and the pen may be placed on anysuitable surface. The door typically includes opening for feeding andventilation and for insertion of optional items. The door is equippedwith at least one feeding pail. As discussed in further detail below,the height or vertical positioning of the feeding pail can be adjustedas the calf grows by raising for lowering the front panel. In apreferred embodiment, the front panel is attached to the side panels viaa connector which has a receiving channel for the front panel and also atongue and groove mechanism. To raise the feed pails the front panel ismoved up and a locking pin is inserted into an aperture in the frontpanel. This mechanism is discussed in greater detail below with respectto FIG. 6.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the pen is adapted for mountingon a wall and the wall to which it is attached forms the rear wall ofthe pen.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which several pen units can beattached to each other. This provides additional stability and keeps thecalves close enough to each other for easy handling, yet stillseparated. The units can be attached to each other through a tongue andgroove mechanism. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side panels includeconnector means having a plurality of tongues and grooves. The modularnature of the present invention including the interlocking tongue andgroove system allows for quick and easy assembly and disassembly ofunits in minutes. In a preferred embodiment the components are made ofdurable polyethylene and are light weight and easy to clean. Thebuilt-in calf dividers keep the calves apart to prevent the spread oddisease and the built inpail holder with pail divider prevents foodcontamination. The polyethylene surface of the component panels/wallsdoes not promote the growth of bacteria or the spread of infectiousdiseases.

FIG. 4A illustrates another configuration in which pen units can beattached side to side and front to back. FIG. 4B illustratesschematically how the units can be configured to fit one's needs.

FIGS. 5A, B and C illustrate optional features which can be includedwith the calf housing pens. FIG. 5A illustrates how a headlock devicecan be incorporated. FIG. 5B illustrates a quick release bottle holderfor feeding calves and FIG. 5C illustrates a wall bracket for attachingthe pen. All of the optional features my be provided in a kit whichincludes the basic building blocks of the pen (i.e. rear panel, sidepanels and front panel) as well as means for holding a bottle and thebottle itself.

As discussed previously, excellent air quality in a pen is essential toraising healthy calves. Different air exchange rates may be neededdepending on the environmental conditions. The pens of the presentinvention are preferably equipped with means for circulating air. In apreferred embodiment, rotary vents are provided in the rear wall asillustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the front panel can be raised up and down inchannels associated with the side panels. In the preferred embodimentillustrated in this figure, there are three apertures or receptacleslocated near the top of the front panel on each side. There is also anaperture or receptacle in the side panel that is adapted to receive apositioning pin. In use, the pen is usually initially set up with thefront panel secured in position at the lowest aperture, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. As the calf grows the front panel can be raised bysliding it in the channels of the side panels and secured at the secondaperture position and then at the third aperture position. This systemprovides a unique advantage for dairy farmers. Due to the adjustablepail height, the calves have greater comfort when feeding and thus mayhave improved growth profiles.

In one embodiment, the frame is square in transverse cross-section,having dimensions on the order of 8×8 ft. Alternatively, other shapesand dimensions are equally acceptable. Further, in one embodiment, theframe has a fairly substantial height, on the order of about 3 ft to 6ft. Other heights are equally acceptable, however, the frame preferablyhas a height greater than a height of an average cow.

Prior to use, the pen is provided as a kit for assembly. It includes inflat packing the front panel and the side panels. If not to be wallmounted, the rear panel is also provided. The unique interlocking systemallows for easy assembly. Optional features such as the bottle holderand headlock may be provided separately or as part of a “deluxe” kit.

The pen and related method of use of the present invention provides amarked improvement over previous designs. Calves are easily isolatedfrom other animals. The invention provides a structure and a farmmanagement system that allows the farmer to easily gain access to thecalf and, at the same time, to reduce the risk of transmission ofinfectious diseases among the herd. Furthermore the system is easy toassemble and to keep clean and is designed to adapt to the feeding needsof the calf as it grows.

One or more currently preferred embodiments have been described by wayof example. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that anumber of variations and modifications can be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable pen unit for use in housing a calf inisolation from a herd, each pen unit comprising a frame having a frontand opposing sides combining to define an interior containment area,wherein the side panels include a tongue and groove connector system foreasy assembly and disassembly of multiple units as a complex.
 2. The penunit of claim 1 further comprising a rear wall, wherein the unit has anopen floor to be free standing.
 3. The pen unit of claim 1 furthercomprising a floor wherein said unit is adapted to be mounted to a wall.4. The pen unit of claim 1, wherein the pen has at least one feed pailintegrated into the front panel and wherein said front panel can bemoved vertically to adjust the height of the feed pail as the calfgrows.
 5. The pen unit of claim 4 wherein said front panel slidesvertically within channels on each side panel.
 6. The pen unit of claim5 wherein the front panel is secure in position through a bolt/aperturesystem.
 7. The pen unit of claim 6 wherein the front panel includes atleast 3 apertures.
 8. A kit for the assembly of a pen as defined inclaim
 1. 9. A method of housing a calf comprising keeping the calf in apen that includes means for adjusting the height of the feed pail as thecalf grows.